Gadget Show does iPhone 5 takedown while liking the Lumia 920?

Here there and everywhere, Microsoft is busy promoting Windows Phone 8 here in London, at the same time Nokia is heavily promoting their Lumia 920. Billboard displays, dedicated TV adverts and even sponsoring dramas and product placements, it's everywhere. On UK TV, the Lumia 920 was on two separate gadget shows, one of which being Stephen Fry’s ‘Gadget Man’.

Last night saw the popular Gadget Show TV show put a bright red Lumia 920 with its wireless charging pad up against the HTC One X+ and the iPhone 5. In what can only be described as a hilarious iPhone 5 take down, the presenters gave all the props to the Lumia 920 and the HTC.

The Lumia 920 is a great device and many of the staff here own one as their daily driver, but it’s always interesting to see how well it goes down in the mainstream media. We’ll forgive them for thinking that it runs Windows 8. Hit the clip around the 13min mark to watch the segment for yourself but here are the salient points:

"Loved the design of the Lumia 920 but didn’t like the weight, I could feel my muscles work, when your using a smartphone I don’t think that should be the case" - Pollyanna Woodward

"iPhone 5, little bit slimmer, little bit lighter but for me it just looks like the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 4s – they need to make more of an effort"

Then onto the cameras, sure they really liked the Lumia 920’s low light performance but the HTC also fared well. Once again it's back to the iPhone 5.

"The iPhone stood out for all the wrong reasons, out of all the three cameras, this one has the most bland colouring, when I look at the photographs they just don’t stand out, I just don’t feel like there is any life in the pictures"

While the performance of the iPhone left us both pretty cold, I loved the Nokia, I think it and it does it, this feels like its part of me, it’s the tile system, so easy. You cannot go wrong - Pollyanna Woodward

Fast talking, breathless love for the Lumia 920 - no christmas cheer for the iPhone 5.

The guys on the show really didn’t seem to get on with this year’s iPhone but when it came to battery performance they had more bad news..

"The real story is how bad the iPhone’s battery life is, bad doesn’t even begin to cover it, and battery is dead by 3pm, that means you have to carry your charger around, unbelievable. And while the iPhone seems to have stood still Nokia’s innovations are charging ahead"

The Qi wireless charging was loved and even touted as a “genius idea” as they whooped but then it was onto the call quality and with a *huge* sigh..

"iPhone, where do I even start with that, absolute nightmare, every single phone call I made with that I had issues with other people on the other end asking if I’m still there - every single person I spoke to has said that."

IPhone 5 gets summed up with: No real innovation, bad battery life and build quality is poor. The Lumia 920 scores well on its ease of use and the wireless charging but they do mention its weight and lack of apps. It’s great to see the Lumia 920 getting such a rosy review on a popular TV show where they make some valid points but why so much anger towards the iPhone 5?

Gadget Show does iPhone 5 takedown while liking the Lumia 920?

"iPhone, where do I even start with that, absolute nightmare, every single phone call I made with that I had issues with other people on the other end asking if I’m still there - every single person I spoke to has said that."
I'll vouch for that. My gf has an iPhone and wonders why I don't like to talk to her on the phone. Tired of half the conversation being repeating what was just said or "are you there?"

I am 6'2", 200lb, and have large hands. For me, the density of the 920 is awesome, but it's the dimentions that make it a tad uncomfortable. It becomes tiresome to use one-handed after a lot of typing and browsing, and because this one is glossy (red), it's easy to drop if you're not careful. To be fair, the 920 is my girlfriend's phone, and mine is the super-light Focus S, so maybe I just haven't acclimated to the Nokia yet, but I prefer a slightly smaller form factor (I know, I know, can't please everyone). I'm still going to buy one for myself when my contract expires, because the possitives of the 920 way outweigh the negatives.

Lacks apps and a bit too heave those are stupid opinions lol apps who needs the stupid shit u can pin to start any web page and heavy lol come on a can drink,burger,wallet ect are all everyday things that have more weight

That show is terrible. They probably were paid by Nokia to feature it. The gadget show is the worst show on British TV. (except jeremy kyle, antiques roadshow, countryfile, homes under the hammer etc.) British TV sucks.

I have 2 920s. In all honesty it is heavy compared to the competition. It is also durable as hell and feels like a quality piece of work. My wife threw hers to me at my friends house. The toss was a little off and it hit the wall. The wall lost paint and plaster. The 920 was unscathed. True story.

I'm not really that surprised by this. It seems like Apple releasing the same phone for the past 3 iterations (one being a bit taller) with a few spec bumps and minor sofware enhancements should have started boring people a while ago.

Actually you can easily Attack its Build Quality. Its resistance to scratches and dents is non existent and the home button, if the iPhone 4/4s is anything to go by, will start getting stuck after a few months of use. The iPhone 3g/3gs had good build quality, the 4/4s/5 not so much

Actually, iPhone 5 has a host of build quality issues. One colleague of mine got one with a warped case (push a corner and it rocks on the table.) Several others got units where the anodized layer could be scratched off with a fingernail.

What I think is happening here is that "journalists" that review or compare products have an unwritten rule to say something positive and something negative about each product. And when they come across a standout product such as the Nokia Lumia 920 - with bigger better sharper screen, long battery life, unparalleled and innovative features eg senstive screen, wireless charging, and OIS Carl Zeiss optics running on an intuivtive and buttery smooth OS like Windows Phone 8 -- there is very little negative whatsoever that they can say. So they reach.
No one ever introduced phones by mentioning how much they weighed until late 2012. But if you must say something bad (and these folks feel they must) then weight is the only negative they can mention. "It's heavier" = Win. If weight is the only negative they can find, then Nokia 920 comes across as superior in all technological categories. Once folks feel the Nokia 920 they'll realize (as all Nokia 920 owners know) that its weight is not a showstopper.

There are plenty of shortcomings of the Lumia 920, most of them actual shortcomings of WP8. Had they done a thorough review, they could have listed a number of those instead of something subjective like weight preference.

Completely agree here, the weight is so close to the iphone 4s with its case having two slabs of glass that it doesn't matter (size for size the Lumia 920 is lighter), but the weight (and size) is now the only thing that they can complain about technically on the phone.
Really impressed here what Nokia have been able to pull off on their 2nd gen WP device, with my contract length I probably will have to wait until the 3rd gen to upgrade, wondering what Pureview will be by then!

The hardest thing, here in the states, is changing the mentality of the average Joe/Jane walking into a store. By default they just ask for iPhone or assume that's all there is. When I was swapping my red 920 for a black one* a lady came in saying she had bought two "i5phones" and had questions. So Nokia has to just keep pushing and marketing and branding and it'll pay off hopefully to the point of people straight up asking for Nokia. It's a name everyone knows but they've been away for a while. :)

*swapped my red for black because the red was too red and too glossy. gorgeous but too high profile for me. :)

May be during the 920 launch, Elop (or whoever gave the speech, sorry can't remember) should have said, "..and despite all the super awesome features, this phone so light...like wow..." and should have gone on and on and on....and tbh I wouldn't be surprised if this 920 weight issue wouldn't have even started. I think its all in the minds of people, the more you hear about it from tech blogs/sites or the internet the more people bitch about it, and as I have realized a lot of tech sites copy each others articles (they cite off course) that means if one writes about it, probably another 20 follow. I guess this is one thing that someone (Nokia/MS) should have thought about differently to advertise...by saying all that I have a Lumia 900 which I felt bulky for a couple of days but after that its not even categorized as an issue...

IPhone should have had its day by now but unfortunately not only are the people who buy it a bunch of lemmings but the cruncher is, having to purchased all their apps again. I will of course be getting another WP phone as its operating system and live tiles cannot be surpassed but there is a few android phones out there that I like but i would not swap as the money I spent on apps on my WP would be a waste! I've said it before, I will say it again - free £$€ vouchers for the marketplace for new WP users! We don't have the same amount of apps but it would take the sting out of it a little bit. My partner has spent well over £60 on apps for her android, she would change to WP tomorrow if this promo was available.

Just so you know, people don't pay for apps again with an iPhone. I have a 4S and a Lumia 920 (like Windows Phone much more). But I have used the Apple ecosystem and know all your purchases are backed up. So please don't spread lies without proof. However, if your saying people have to pay for apps by switching operation systems, here's what I say: the Lumia is $100 less than the cheapest iPhone 5, so spend that $100 on rebuying your apps, and most people can save money.

How on earth does the iPhone 5 have antiquated hardware? I'll give you the os, buy the hardware is on par with everything current Gen. You are comparing computers with a ten year disparity between them and claiming its the same as iPhone versus the competition? REALLY?

I have been an iPhone fan since its inception. Call quality has never been there forte? Can you understand the person on the other line? Sure. But its simply not as good as most of the competition. Thing is, people use their phones so little for talking anymore that it isn't a spec that matters too much.

Yes and no... Apple certainly improved things and made them better. But the road was already well-paved when they got there ;) Whether it's "cool" or not is a matter of personal opinion though - whether it paved the way or not is beside the point.
Personally, I think most Apple products are "pretty" but not "cool". To reach the "cool factor" they need to tick all the boxes - while I think Apple make great hardware, I hate their software. I don't like their OS (I work in an office surrounded by Mac's and it's much harder to use than Windows) and I don't like iTunes - primarily when helping relatives with their iDevice and iTunes is so completely unintuitive it's not funny. But anyway, to each their own.

The iPhone backlash they did was so strong it came across as false. Then when they did the Windows 8 bit later in the show just after they'd admitted the show had been sponsored by "Windows", and they went mad for all things Windows 8, I did think hmm... Still, if advertising like this works then great.
Problem with Surface in the UK is they're mail-order only - so there's no real awareness. It's no good making a device with a wow factor and then not putting it the stores for people to be wowed.

Now all they need to do is hunt down developers with microsoft and make them write gr8 apps for windows phone. I read ppl are really itching for instagram and google apps not to mention whatsapp not performing upto the mark.
Still waiting for 920 in INDIA.(Comeon NOKIA we supported you more than the United States. You Owe us some consideration)...